Device and method for antenna synchronization and selection

ABSTRACT

A device and method selects an antenna configuration. The method performed at a user equipment includes determining at least one communication functionality that is being used, each communication functionality configured to utilize at least one antenna in a multi-antenna arrangement of the user equipment. The method includes receiving a first indication of whether a cellular communication functionality is being used, the cellular communication functionality configured to utilize at least one antenna in the multi-antenna arrangement. The method includes receiving a second indication of whether a coexistence condition is present. The method includes determining an antenna configuration for the multi-antenna arrangement to be used by the determined communication functionality based upon the determined communication functionality, the first indication, and the second indication. The method includes configuring the multi-antenna arrangement for the determined communication functionality based upon the antenna configuration.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A user equipment (UE) may include a communication component to establisha connection to one or more further components either through a directconnection or through a communications network. More specifically, thecommunication component may enable wireless communications. For example,the communication component may be a radio including one or morecommunication chips such as a WiFi chip, a Bluetooth chip, a cellularchip, etc. The communication chips may be configured to operate ondifferent frequencies or channels as defined in a specification of thecorresponding communication technology.

The UE may further include an antenna arrangement that is utilized bythe communication chips to transmit and receive signals on thecorresponding frequencies. The antenna arrangement may include aplurality of antennas for use by the different communication chips. Oneof the communication chips may utilize one or more of the antennas inthe antenna arrangement for transmission diversity and/or receptiondiversity. At a concurrent time, another one of the communication chipsmay utilize one or more of the antennas in the antenna arrangement alsofor transmission diversity and/or reception diversity. Conventionalapproaches in antenna selection to achieve the diversity entails eachcommunication chip independently selecting the antennas for use withoutconsideration of other communication chips being used. For example, eachcommunication chip may have a respective algorithm to dynamically selectthe transmission antenna based on performance characteristics.

When multiple communication chips operate concurrently and utilizeantennas in the antenna arrangement, there may be adverse effects thatresult. For example, the use of antennas by multiple communication chipsmay result in an elevated specific absorption rate (SAR) condition. TheSAR condition may be intended to be minimized for any number of avariety of reasons. In another example, the cellular chip may alsoentail a coexistence condition to be present. The coexistence conditionmay also negatively affect the manner in which the communication chipsperform from an out of band emission, blocking, intermodulationdistortion, etc.

SUMMARY

The present invention describes a method performed at a user equipmentcomprising: determining at least one communication functionality that isbeing used, each of the at least one communication functionalityconfigured to utilize at least one antenna in a multi-antennaarrangement of the user equipment; receiving a first indication ofwhether a cellular communication functionality is being used, thecellular communication functionality configured to utilize at least oneantenna in the multi-antenna arrangement; receiving a second indicationof whether a coexistence condition is present; determining an antennaconfiguration for the multi-antenna arrangement to be used by thedetermined at least one communication functionality based upon thedetermined at least one communication functionality, the firstindication, and the second indication; and configuring the multi-antennaarrangement for the determined at least one communication functionalitybased upon the antenna configuration.

The present invention describes a user equipment comprising: amulti-antenna arrangement; a cellular radio configured to establish aconnection to a cellular network via the multi-antenna arrangement; aradio configured to at least one of establish a connection to a WiFinetwork using a WiFi communication functionality and establish ashort-range connection to a further user equipment using a Bluetoothcommunication functionality via the multi-antenna arrangement, the radioconfigured to select an antenna configuration for the multi-antennaarrangement by: determining whether at least one of the WiFicommunication functionality and the Bluetooth communicationfunctionality is being used; receiving a first indication of whether thecellular radio is being used; receiving a second indication of whether acoexistence condition is present; determining the antenna configurationof at least one antenna in the multi-antenna arrangement to be used bythe determined at least one of the WiFi communication functionality andthe Bluetooth communication functionality based upon the determined atleast one of the WiFi communication functionality and the Bluetoothcommunication functionality, the first indication, and the secondindication; and configuring the multi-antenna arrangement for thedetermined at least one of the WiFi communication functionality and theBluetooth communication functionality based upon the antennaconfiguration.

The present invention describes a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein theprogram instructs a microprocessor to perform operations, comprising:determining at least one communication functionality that is being used,each of the at least one communication functionality configured toutilize at least one antenna in a multi-antenna arrangement of the userequipment; receiving a first indication of whether a cellularcommunication functionality is being used, the cellular communicationfunctionality configured to utilize at least one antenna in themulti-antenna arrangement; receiving a second indication of whether acoexistence condition is present; determining an antenna configurationfor the multi-antenna arrangement to be used by the determined at leastone communication functionality based upon the determined at least onecommunication functionality, the first indication, and the secondindication; and configuring the multi-antenna arrangement for thedetermined at least one communication functionality based upon theantenna configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows components of an exemplary user equipment configured toselect an antenna configuration according to various embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary selection table according to variousembodiments described herein.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary method for selecting an antenna for acommunication functionality according to various embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary antenna configuration from a selection in theselection table according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5 an exemplary method of selecting an antenna configurationaccording to various embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference tothe following description and the related appended drawings, whereinlike elements are provided with the same reference numerals. Theexemplary embodiments are related to a device and method for antennasynchronization and selection in a radio utilizing more than onecommunication chip and an antenna arrangement comprising more than oneantenna. The antenna selection of the plurality of antenna in theantenna arrangement may be selected based upon a selection table givenparameters of a current scenario being experienced by the communicationchips in the radio. Specifically, based upon an existing condition ofthe communication chips including a specific absorption rate (SAR)condition and a coexistence condition, the exemplary embodiments providea mechanism by which the selection table is utilized to minimize theadverse effects associated with either or both conditions. Accordingly,the exemplary embodiments may enable the use of the radio and theantenna arrangement in an efficient manner.

FIG. 1 shows components of an exemplary user equipment (UE) 100configured to select an antenna configuration according to variousembodiments described herein. The UE 100 may represent any electronicdevice configured to establish a communicative link with another UE or anetwork. That is, the UE 100 includes components corresponding to thevarious frequencies and wireless communications in which wirelesscommunications are to be performed. Accordingly, the UE 100 isconfigured to enable coexistence between multiple wireless technologieswithin a single device. The UE 100 may represent any electronic devicesuch as a portable device (e.g., a cellular phone, a smartphone, atablet, a phablet, a laptop, a wearable, etc.) or a stationary device(e.g., desktop computer). The UE 100 may include an applicationprocessor 105, a memory arrangement 110, a cellular chip 120, anIndustrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) chip 130, and an antennaarrangement including a plurality of antenna 150-165.

The applications processor 105 may be configured to execute a pluralityof applications of the station 100. For example, the applications mayinclude a web browser when connected to a communication network via thecellular chip 120 and/or the ISM chip 130. In another example, theapplications may include a short range exchange program with another UEvia the ISM chip 130. The memory arrangement 110 may be a hardwarecomponent configured to store data related to operations performed bythe UE 100. Specifically, as will be described in further detail below,the memory arrangement 110 may store a selection table 180 that definesthe antenna configuration to be used. It should be noted that theselection table 180 may also be stored in other components of the UE 100such as in firmware executed by an integrated circuit. The UE 100 mayinclude further components (not shown) such as a display device, aninput/output (I/O) device, a portable power supply (e.g., battery), adata acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE 100 toother electronic devices via wired communications, etc.

The cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130 may be a hardware componentsconfigured to transmit and/or receive data. That is, the cellular chip120 and the ISM chip 130 may enable communication with other electronicdevices directly or indirectly through a network based upon an operatingfrequency of the direct communication pathway or network. The cellularchip 120 and the ISM chip 130 may operate on a variety of differentfrequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies) that arerelated to a cellular network and a WiFi network, respectively. The ISMchip 130 may also perform wireless functionalities for short rangecommunications such as Bluetooth. Accordingly, the cellular chip 120 maybe for the wireless functionalities related to the cellular network andthe ISM chip 130 may be for the wireless functionalities related to theWiFi network and the Bluetooth communications. It should be noted thatthe chips may also be referred to as a radio or a multi-radioarrangement in which the cellular chip 120 may represent a cellularradio and the ISM chip 130 may represent an ISM radio including a WiFiradio and a Bluetooth radio. It should further be noted that thecellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130 may include any combination ofhardware, software, firmware, etc. necessary for the respectivefunctionalities to be performed such as a processing functionality.

As discussed above, the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130 mayoperate on a variety of different frequencies or channels. The cellularchip 120 may provide the functionalities such that the wirelessfunctionalities related to the cellular network may be performed. Thecellular chip 120 may more specifically enable the UE 100 to communicatewirelessly with a cellular network operating in any of the bands used bycellphones, including, but not limited to, cellphone bands adjacent tothe ISM band. The ISM chip 130 may provide the functionalities such thatthe wireless functionalities related to the WiFi network and/or theshort range communications may be performed. The ISM chip 130 may morespecifically enable the UE 100 to communicate wirelessly with a WiFinetwork operating in any of implemented bands such as in the 2.4 GHzband or the 5 GHz band in addition to enabling the UE 100 to communicatewirelessly with another UE in the Bluetooth band such as between 2.4 GHzand 2.485 GHz. Those skilled in the art will understand that the ISMchip 130 may be provided for the WiFi network but may be adjusted suchthat the ISM chip 130 is also provided for the short rangecommunications as the WiFi network and the short range communicationsoperate in a high-band frequency range. However, it should be noted thatthe use of the ISM chip 130 as an incorporated component for WiFi andBluetooth is only exemplary. In another exemplary embodiment, the ISMchip 130 may represent separate chips, one for WiFi and one forBluetooth.

The components of the station 100 may be disposed at least partially onan integrated circuit board (ICB). Accordingly, the cellular chip 120,the ISM chip 130, and the applications processor 105 may be disposed onthe ICB in which pathways may also exist between these components. Forexample, there may be a cellular pathway (not shown) to connect thecellular chip 120 to the applications processor 105. In another example,there may be an ISM pathway such as a peripheral component interconnectexpress (PCIe) 145 to connect the ISM chip 130 to the applicationsprocessor 105. In a further example, there may be a wireless coexistenceinterface (WCI) pathway 140 such as WCI-2 to connect the cellular chip120 to the ISM chip 130. Those skilled in the art will understand themanner in which the cellular chip 120, the ISM chip 130, and theapplications processor 105 may be disposed on the ICB as well as themanner in which the different pathways may be provided for theinterconnections. Therefore, the pathways provide an exemplary mannerfor data or information to be exchanged between the components of thecellular chip 120, the ISM chip 130, and the applications processor 105.

As described above, the applications processor 105 may be used for thedifferent applications that may be executed on the UE 100. Theapplications processor 105 may also be configured to control high-levelactions between the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. Although theWCI pathway 140 may be used, the WCI pathway 140 may be limited to asize of the types of messages that may be transmitted between thecellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. For example, as will bedescribed in further detail below, the cellular chip 120 may transmit aType 7 message, the contents of which may indicate information relatedto the cellular chip 120. The applications processor 105 may provide abridge for a large data block to be transmitted between the cellularchip 120 and the ISM chip 130. The applications processor 105 may alsobe configured to provide indications such as a state of the UE 100(e.g., when it is awake, when it is going asleep, when it is waking,etc.). According to the exemplary embodiments, the applicationsprocessor 105 may further be configured to execute a decisionapplication 170. The decision application 170 may generate a message toindicate a decision table to be used. For example, the message may betransmitted as an input/output control (ioctl) over the PCIe 145 whichmay be any system call to a device. Specifically, the decision table maybe provided to the ISM chip 130 to provide at least a partial basis uponwhich an antenna configuration is selected when a coexistence conditionis present or absent. The decision table may be provided based upon avariety of factors such as a cellular channel, a WiFi channel, aBluetooth operation, etc.

According to the exemplary embodiments, the ISM chip 130 may beconfigured with firmware (FW) 135 that may include a selectionapplication 175 to determine an antenna configuration to be used basedupon the selection table 180 by utilizing the ioctl received from thedecision application 170 over the PCIe 145 and the Type 7 messagereceived from the cellular chip 120 over the WCI pathway 140. As will bedescribed in further detail below, the ioctl and the Type 7 message maybe configured to provide information regarding the coexistence conditionand the cellular chip functionality, respectively, that forms the basisupon which the selection table 180 is to be used. The antennaconfiguration may accordingly be selected such that the antennas 150-165are used according to the selection from the selection table 180 thatoptimizes the performance of the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130given the current communications operations. It should be noted that theselection table 180 may be generated based upon experimental data fromtrials performed to determine a preferred antenna configuration basedupon various communication settings.

The WCI pathway 140 is designed for the transmission of real-timemessages between the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. The WCIpathway 140 has been designed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group(SIG) such that a specified data packet is utilized for the real-timemessage. Specifically, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter(UART) message may be used with the WCI pathway 140. The Bluetooth SIGhas designed the WCI pathway 140 to utilize the UART message in aspecialized manner. Specifically, eight different message types may beused where a group of message types are denoted as Type X to includemessage types 0, 1, and 3-7.

As discussed above, the exemplary embodiments may utilize the Type 7message to be transmitted from the cellular chip 120 to the ISM chip 130over the WCI pathway 140. As those skilled in the art will understand,the Type 7 message may include five indicators (e.g., I[0], I[1], . . ., and I[4]) or components in which information may be transmitted.Specifically, with regard to the exemplary embodiments, the I[0] mayinclude an indicator (e.g., a Boolean) of whether the cellular chip 120or cellular communications are on or off such as a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) connected indicator (RRC_C). The I[1] may include anindication regarding a power level which the cellular chip may beoperating. As those skilled in the art will understand, the power levelmay be selected based upon a power cap as defined by standards andspecifications in the telecommunications industry. According to theexemplary embodiments, the I[2] may include an indication of a portionor selection in the selection table 180 to be used in selecting theantenna configuration. The remaining I[3] and I[4] may be blank (e.g.,zero'ed out) or may be used for other purposes. The Type 7 message mayhave the indicators determined based upon a WCI module 125 which mayrepresent a module configured for this functionality.

The ioctl according to the exemplary embodiments may include informationused to determine the antenna configuration to be used. In a firstexample, the ioctl may be for independent antenna selection instructionsfor the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band. In a second example, the ioctlmay be for simultaneous antenna selection for the 2.4 GHz band and the 5GHz band. In a third example, the ioctl may be for independent antennaselection instructions for uplink and downlink. In a fourth example, theioctl may be configured for antennas that are allowed for use as well asselecting specific antennas within this allowed set (e.g., by the FW135). In a fifth example, the ioctl may be for a multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) configuration of up to 3×3 and for up to fourantennas such as the antennas 150-165. However, it should be noted thatalthough the description of the exemplary embodiments herein areassociated with these conditions, they are only exemplary. As thoseskilled in the art will understand, different conditions may also beused, particularly those relating to those noted above.

According to the exemplary embodiments and given the above conditions,the antenna selection ioctl from the decision application 170 executedby the applications processor 105 may include various types ofinformation for use by the selection application 175. In a firstexample, the ioctl may include a preset amount of information (e.g., twobits, two bytes, etc.) for each combination of WiFi band (e.g., 2.4 GHzand 5 GHz) and an antenna selection table (e.g., as indicated in I[2] ofthe Type 7 message). Thus, the two byte information may be for 2.4 GHzwith a first antenna selection table, 2.4 GHz with a second antennaselection table, 5 GHz with the first antenna selection table, and 5 GHzwith the second antenna selection table. The ioctl may also include anuplink antenna mode byte, a two byte uplink antenna selection, and abitmap of allowed uplink antennas. Specifically, the uplink antenna modebyte may indicate whether a default may be used or whether constraintsare to be applied. The two byte uplink antenna selection may indicatewhether specific antennas are to be selected, whether one antenna isselected from an allowed set, whether two antennas are selected from theallowed set, and whether three antennas are selected from the allowedset. The bitmap of allowed uplink antennas may include the four antennas150-165. The ioctl may further include a downlink antenna mode byte, atwo byte downlink antenna selection, and a bitmap of allowed downlinkantennas. The information for this portion of the ioctl may besubstantially similar to that for the uplink except corresponding to thedownlink.

It was described above that there may be power caps associated with theantenna selection. It is again noted that the ISM chip 130 may operatein consideration of a power cap that is set for the Bluetooth portionand/or the WiFi portion of the ISM chip 130 based upon the antenna andcellular state. The power cap may be any predetermined or dynamicselection such that standards such as those related to SAR are followed.Therefore, the description below for the antenna selection may alsoincorporate a power cap if the power cap is also a setting associated oraccompanied with the antenna selection such as being indicated in theType 7 message in I[1]. It is also noted that the power cap may bedifferent for each selection in the antenna configuration or a constantpower cap value may be used.

The exemplary embodiments provide a mechanism to make a selection in theselection table 180 to determine an antenna configuration to be used bythe cellular chip 120 and/or the ISM chip 130 based upon currentcommunications conditions of the UE 100. It was described above that theUE 100 may include an antenna arrangement in which a plurality ofantennas 150-165 are included. The antennas 150-165 may be any type ofantenna that is capable of being used by the cellular chip 120 and theISM chip 130 and the subcomponents corresponding to the variouscommunications technologies that are available. The antennas 150-165 mayalso be disposed in the UE 100 at predetermined locations to achievedifferent types of diversities. For example, the antennas 150, 155 maybe disposed on a common side while the antennas 160, 165 may be disposedon an opposite side of the UE 100. Therefore, the antennas 150, 155 maybe relatively far away from the antennas 160, 165 whereas the antenna150 may be closer to the antenna 155 and the antenna 160 may be closerto the antenna 165. The proximity and disposition of the antennas150-165 may potentially contribute to the SAR and coexistence conditionsof the UE 100. The antennas 150-165 may also be predetermined foroperation with particular communication technologies available on thecellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. However, it should be noted thatthe antennas 150-165 may also be available for each communicationtechnology and not limited to select ones. It should also be noted thatthe disposition and number of the antennas 150-165 is only exemplary andthose skilled in the art will understand that the exemplary embodimentsmay also be applied to UEs having different dispositions and/or numbersof the antennas in the antenna arrangement.

In a more specific exemplary embodiment, the antennas 150-165 may be anytype of antenna configured to be used for the various communicationfunctionalities when selected. Accordingly, the antenna 150 (referred toas WF5 in FIG. 2) may be configured for performing communicationscorresponding to cellular diversity, 2.4 GHz for WiFi communications,and 2.4 GHz for Bluetooth communications. The antenna 155 may beconfigured for performing communications corresponding to a cellularprimary. The antenna 160 (referred to as WF1 in FIG. 2) may beconfigured for performing communications corresponding to 2.4 GHz forWiFi communications and 5 GHz for WiFi communications. The antenna 165(referred to as WF2 in FIG. 2) may be configured for performingcommunications corresponding to 2.4 GHz for WiFi communications and 5GHz for WiFi communications and 2.4 GHz for Bluetooth communications. Itshould be noted that the designation of the antennas for the selectcommunication technologies is only exemplary. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the antennas 150-165 may have different selectionsfor each of the antennas 150-165 for the available communicationstechnologies.

In view of these select operations for each of the antennas 150-165,there may be circuitry or connections (not shown) between the antennas150-165, the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. As discussed above,the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130 thereof may be disposed on anICB. More specifically, the cellular chip 120 may be housed as aseparate cellular radio whereas the ISM chip 130 may be housed as aseparate WiFi radio including a first core for the WiFi operations and asecond core including a first portion for the 2.4 GHz communications anda second portion for the 5 GHz communications. Thus, the cellular radiomay have a connection to the antenna 150 and the antenna 155. It isnoted that the first and second cores may be used for spatiallymultiplexed transmissions or diversity transmissions. The first core ofthe WiFi radio may have a connection to the antenna 160. The firstportion of the second core of the WiFi radio may have a connection tothe cellular radio for further connection to the antenna 150 and aconnection to the antenna 165. The second portion of the second core ofthe WiFi radio may have a connection to the antenna 165. In view of thefirst and second portions of the second core having multipleconnections, the first portion may have a first switch that enables aparticular connection pathway to operate and the second portion may havea second switch that enables a further particular connection pathway tooperate. The switches may be controlled by the FW 135 that generates theappropriate signals.

As discussed above, the exemplary embodiments may utilize the selectiontable 180 to make a selection to determine an antenna configuration tobe used by the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. Specifically, theselection for the antenna configuration may be predetermined uses ofselect ones of the antennas 150-165 based upon the communicationssettings being used prior to using the antenna configuration that isdetermined by the selecting application 175.

FIG. 2 shows the selection table 180 stored in the memory arrangement110 according to various embodiments described herein. Specifically, theselection table 180 relates to the selecting application 175 receivingthe ioctl from the decision application 170 over the PCIe 145 and theType 7 message from the cellular chip 120 such as generated by the WCImodule 125 over the WCI pathway 140. The selection table 180 presentsthe possible different use cases based upon the cellular chip 120 andthe ISM chip 130 which further enables WiFi and Bluetoothcommunications. The selection table 180 further identifies the problemsthat may be present from the different use cases, the available antennasfor use, and actions to be taken for the given use case when identified.

The use cases that may be included in the selection table 180 may bedivided into whether the Bluetooth functionality of the ISM chip 130 isbeing utilized, which of the WiFi functionalities of the ISM chip 130 isbeing utilized, and whether the cellular functionality of the cellularchip 120 is being utilized. The cellular functionality may further besubdivided into whether the use of the cellular functionality results ina coexistence condition. Again, as described above, this may bedetermined based upon the Type 7 message received by the selectingapplication 175 executed by the FW 135 on the ISM chip 130. Thus, afirst division in the selection table 180 is when the Bluetoothfunctionality is being used and the WiFi functionality is not being usedin either the 2.4 GHz or the 5 GHz. The first division also provides thescenarios where the cellular functionality is also being used and thecoexistence condition is determined to be absent or present. A seconddivision in the selection table 180 is when the 2.4 GHz WiFifunctionality is being used and the Bluetooth functionality is not beingused. The second division also provides the scenarios where the cellularfunctionality is also being used and the coexistence condition isdetermined to be absent or present. A third division in the selectiontable 180 is when the Bluetooth functionality is being used and the 2.4GHz WiFi functionality is being concurrently used. The third divisionalso provides the scenarios where the cellular functionality is alsobeing used and the coexistence condition is determined to be absent orpresent. A fourth division in the selection table 180 is when theBluetooth functionality is being used and the 5 GHz WiFi functionalityis being concurrently used. The fourth division also provides thescenarios where the cellular functionality is also being used and thecoexistence condition is determined to be absent or present. Eachdivision will be described below.

The first division of the selection table 180 provides selections whenthe Bluetooth functionality is being used alone, with the cellularfunctionality with no coexistence condition, and with the cellularfunctionality with the coexistence condition. When the Bluetoothfunctionality is being used alone, there may not be a SAR or coexistenceissue associated with this communication setting. Accordingly, this maycorrespond to the first row of the selection table 180. The Bluetoothfunctionality is also usable with the antenna 150 or the antenna 165.With no associated problem, the selecting application 175 may select abest antenna for use as indicated in the selection table 180corresponding to an auto selection. Thus, the auto selection may relateto a corresponding action of setting the Bluetooth antenna based upon anetwork parameter such as a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The selectionof the antenna may incorporate a selection for receiving on Bluetoothbased upon calculated receiving errors and a selection for transmittingon Bluetooth based upon a maximum transmission power.

When the Bluetooth functionality is being used with the cellularfunctionality, there may entail either a specific absorption rate (SAR)condition or a combination of a SAR condition and a coexistencecondition. With only the SAR condition, this may correspond to thesecond row of the selection table 180. Again, the Bluetoothfunctionality is usable with the antenna 150 or the antenna 165. Whenthe cellular functionality is being used, the antenna 155 may be used.With no coexistence condition, the selecting application 175 may againselect a best antenna for use as indicated in the selection table 180corresponding to an auto selection. Specifically, a substantiallysimilar auto selection process may be used as discussed above (e.g.,based upon SNR, receiving errors, maximum transmission power, etc.).Furthermore, with the cellular functionality being used, the WCI module125 may generate the Type 7 message for transmission over the WCIpathway 140 as this feature is enabled. A corresponding action may be toset the Bluetooth antenna in a substantially similar operation discussedabove where only the Bluetooth functionality is being used (with nocellular functionality). Furthermore, the selecting application 175 mayset a power cap to address the SAR condition for each the antenna beingused by the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130.

With the combination of the SAR condition and the coexistence condition,this may correspond to the third row of the selection table 180. By alsodetecting the coexistence condition, the Bluetooth functionality may bedetermined to only be usable with the antenna 165. For example, theantenna 150 may no longer be a viable option as the proximity to theantenna 155 being used by the cellular chip 120 may be the cause of thecoexistence condition that degrades the performance of the cellular chip120 and the ISM chip 130. Therefore, although the antenna 150 or theantenna 165 is otherwise available for the Bluetooth functionality, theselection table 180 may indicate that the Bluetooth functionality is tobe performed via the antenna 165 only. The Bluetooth may again selectthe antenna 165 but with consideration of the limitation being imposedto result in selecting the antenna 165. The presence of the coexistencecondition may be performed in a substantially similar operationdescribed above except that an opposite determination is found.Furthermore, with the cellular functionality being used, the WCI module125 may generate the Type 7 message for transmission over the WCIpathway 140 as this feature is enabled. A corresponding action may be toset the Bluetooth antenna as indicated in the selection table 180 andset a power cap to address the SAR condition and/or the coexistencecondition for the antenna 165. It should be noted that this power capmay be substantially similar to the previously discussed power cap thataddressed the SAR condition. However, this power cap may also be adifferent value and these power caps may be part of a power controlconfiguration. Accordingly, the power cap may additionally becategorized and/or set using different factors such as whether there isa SAR condition, whether there is a coexistence condition, whether thereis both the SAR condition and the coexistence condition, which antennas150-165 are being utilized, a combination thereof, etc.

The second division of the selection table 180 provides selections whenthe 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is being used alone, with the cellularfunctionality with no coexistence condition, and with the cellularfunctionality with the coexistence condition. When the 2.4 GHz WiFifunctionality is being used alone, there may not be any problemassociated with this communication setting. Accordingly, this maycorrespond to the fourth row of the selection table 180. The 2.4 GHzWiFi functionality is also usable with the antenna 150, the antenna 160,or the antenna 165 based upon the core of the ISM chip 130. With noassociated problem, the selecting application 175 may select a bestantenna for use as indicated in the selection table 180 corresponding toan auto selection. Specifically, for the first core, the antenna 160 maybe selected and for the first portion of the second core, the antenna150 or the antenna 165 may be selected. With no associated problem, theselecting application 175 may select a best antenna for use by thesecond core of the ISM chip 130 as indicated in the selection table 180corresponding to an auto selection. Thus, a corresponding action may beto set the 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna based upon the network parameter. In asubstantially similar manner as the Bluetooth only setting describedabove, the selection of the antenna may incorporate a selection forreceiving on 2.4 GHz WiFi based upon calculated receiving errors and aselection for transmitting on 2.4 GHz WiFi based upon a maximumtransmission power.

When the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is being used with the cellularfunctionality, there may entail either a SAR condition or a combinationof a SAR condition and a coexistence condition. With only the SARcondition, this may correspond to the fifth row of the selection table180. Again, the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is usable with the antenna160 with the first core or the antenna 150 or the antenna 165 with thefirst portion of the second core. When the cellular functionality isbeing used, the antenna 155 may be used. The absence of the coexistencecondition may be determined in a substantially similar manner discussedabove. With no coexistence condition, the selecting application 175 mayagain select a best antenna for use by the second core of the ISM chip130 as indicated in the selection table 180 corresponding to an autoselection. Furthermore, with the cellular functionality being used, theWCI module 125 may generate the Type 7 message for transmission over theWCI pathway 140 as this feature is enabled. A corresponding action maybe to set the 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna in a substantially similar operationdiscussed above where only the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is being used(with no cellular functionality). Furthermore, the selecting application175 may set a power cap for each the antenna being used by the cellularchip 120 and the ISM chip 130.

With the combination of the SAR condition and the coexistence condition,this may correspond to the sixth row of the selection table 180. By alsodetecting the coexistence condition, the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality maybe determined to only be usable with the antenna 160 for the first coreand the antenna 165 for the first portion of the second core. Forexample, the antenna 150 may no longer be a viable option as theproximity to the antenna 155 being used by the cellular chip 120 may bethe cause of the coexistence condition that degrades the performance ofthe cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. The selection table 180 maythereby indicate that the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is to be performedby the first portion of the second core via the antenna 165 only. The2.4 GHz WiFi functionality may again select the antenna 165 but withconsideration of the limitation being imposed to result in selecting theantenna 165. The presence of the coexistence condition may be performedin a substantially similar operation described above except that anopposite determination is found. Furthermore, with the cellularfunctionality being used, the WCI module 125 may generate the Type 7message for transmission over the WCI pathway 140 as this feature isenabled. A corresponding action may be to set the 2.4 GHz WiFi antennaas indicated in the selection table 180 and set a power cap for theantenna 165.

The third division of the selection table 180 provides selections whenthe Bluetooth functionality and the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is beingused in combination, with the cellular functionality with no coexistencecondition, and with the cellular functionality with the coexistencecondition. When the Bluetooth functionality and the 2.4 GHz WiFifunctionality are being used in combination, there may not be anyproblem associated with this communication setting. Accordingly, thismay correspond to the seventh row of the selection table 180. Asdiscussed above, the Bluetooth functionality is usable with the antenna150 or the antenna 165 by the second core of the ISM chip 130 while the2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is usable with the antenna 160 by the firstcore of the ISM chip 130 or with the antenna 150 or the antenna 165 bythe second core of the ISM chip 130. With no associated problem, theselecting application 175 may select a best antenna for use as indicatedin the selection table 180 corresponding to an auto selection for boththe Bluetooth antenna and the 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna on the second core ofthe ISM chip 130. However, since both the BlueTooh antenna and the 2.4GHz WiFi antenna may both be selected from either the antenna 150 or theantenna 165, the auto selection may relate to one of thesefunctionalities selecting one of these antennas while the otherfunctionality selects the remaining antenna. For example, should theBluetooth functionality select the antenna 150, the 2.4 GHz WiFifunctionality may select the antenna 165 to maintain a diversity.However, this may only be one determination as the selecting application175 may also determine that a common antenna to be used by bothfunctionalities may be more optimal based upon the current conditions.With no associated problem, the selecting application 175 may select abest antenna for use by each functionality as indicated in the selectiontable 180 corresponding to an auto selection where the selection may bebased upon the network parameter. In a substantially similar manner asthe Bluetooth only setting described above, the selection of the 2.4 GHzWiFi antenna may incorporate a selection for receiving on 2.4 GHz WiFibased upon calculated receiving errors and a selection for transmittingon 2.4 GHz WiFi based upon a maximum transmission power.

When the Bluetooth functionality and the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality arebeing used with the cellular functionality, there may entail either aSAR condition or a combination of a SAR condition and a coexistencecondition. With only the SAR condition, this may correspond to theeighth row of the selection table 180. Again, the Bluetoothfunctionality is usable with the antenna 150 or the antenna 165 whilethe 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is usable with the antenna 160 with thefirst core or the antenna 150 or the antenna 165 with the first portionof the second core. When the cellular functionality is being used, theantenna 155 may be used. The absence of the coexistence condition may bedetermined in a substantially similar manner discussed above. With nocoexistence condition, the selecting application 175 may again select abest antenna for use by the Bluetooth portion and the 2.4 GHz WiFiportion of the ISM chip 130 in a substantially similar manner asdiscussed above with no cellular functionality. Furthermore, with thecellular functionality being used, the WCI module 125 may generate theType 7 message for transmission over the WCI pathway 140 as this featureis enabled. A corresponding action may be to set the Bluetooth antennaand the 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna in a substantially similar operationdiscussed above. Furthermore, the selecting application 175 may set apower cap for each the antenna being used by the cellular chip 120 andthe ISM chip 130.

With the combination of the SAR condition and the coexistence condition,this may correspond to the ninth row of the selection table 180. By alsodetecting the coexistence condition, the Bluetooth functionality and the2.4 GHz WiFi functionality may be determined to each only be usable withthe antenna 165. For example, the antenna 150 may no longer be a viableoption as the proximity to the antenna 155 being used by the cellularchip 120 may be the cause of the coexistence condition that degrades theperformance of the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130. The selectiontable 180 may thereby indicate that the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is tobe performed by the first portion of the second core via the antenna 165only. The 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality may again select the antenna 165but with consideration of the limitation being imposed to result inselecting the antenna 165. The presence of the coexistence condition maybe performed in a substantially similar operation described above exceptthat an opposite determination is found. Furthermore, with the cellularfunctionality being used, the WCI module 125 may generate the Type 7message for transmission over the WCI pathway 140 as this feature isenabled. A corresponding action may be to set the Bluetooth WiFi antennaand the 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna as indicated in the selection table 180 andset a power cap for the antenna 165.

The fourth division of the selection table 180 provides selections whenthe Bluetooth functionality and the 5 GHz WiFi functionality is beingused in combination, with the cellular functionality with no coexistencecondition, and with the cellular functionality with the coexistencecondition. When the Bluetooth functionality and the 5 GHz WiFifunctionality are being used in combination, there may not be anyproblem associated with this communication setting. Accordingly, thismay correspond to the tenth row of the selection table 180. As discussedabove, the Bluetooth functionality is usable with the antenna 150 or theantenna 165 by the second core of the ISM chip 130 while the 5 GHz WiFifunctionality is usable with the antenna 160 by the first core of theISM chip 130 or with the antenna 165 by the second portion of the secondcore of the ISM chip 130. With no associated problem, the selectingapplication 175 may select a best antenna for use as indicated in theselection table 180 corresponding to an auto selection for both theBluetooth antenna and the 5 GHz WiFi antenna on the second core of theISM chip 130. The selection by both functionalities may be substantiallysimilar to that described above with regard to the Bluetoothfunctionality and the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality. With no associatedproblem, the selecting application 175 may select a best antenna for useby each functionality as indicated in the selection table 180corresponding to an auto selection where the selection may be based uponthe network parameter. In a substantially similar manner as theBluetooth only setting described above, the selection of the BluetoothWiFi antenna may incorporate a selection for receiving on Bluetoothbased upon calculated receiving errors and a selection for transmittingon Bluetooth based upon a maximum transmission power.

When the Bluetooth functionality and the 5 GHz WiFi functionality arebeing used with the cellular functionality, there may entail either aSAR condition or a combination of a SAR condition and a coexistencecondition. With only the SAR condition, this may correspond to theeleventh row of the selection table 180. Again, the Bluetoothfunctionality is usable with the antenna 150 or the antenna 165 whilethe 5 GHz WiFi functionality is usable with the antenna 160 with thefirst core or the antenna 165 with the second portion of the secondcore. When the cellular functionality is being used, the antenna 155 maybe used. The absence of the coexistence condition may be determined in asubstantially similar manner discussed above. With no coexistencecondition, the selecting application 175 may again select a best antennafor use by the Bluetooth portion and the 5 GHz WiFi portion of the ISMchip 130 in a substantially similar manner as discussed above with nocellular functionality. Furthermore, with the cellular functionalitybeing used, the WCI module 125 may generate the Type 7 message fortransmission over the WCI pathway 140 as this feature is enabled. Acorresponding action may be to set the Bluetooth antenna and the 5 GHzWiFi antenna in a substantially similar operation discussed above.Furthermore, the selecting application 175 may set a power cap for eachthe antenna being used by the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130.

With the combination of the SAR condition and the coexistence condition,this may correspond to the twelfth row of the selection table 180. Byalso detecting the coexistence condition, the Bluetooth functionalityand the 5 GHz WiFi functionality may be determined to each only beusable with the antenna 165. Accordingly, a substantially similaranalysis and operation may be performed as discussed above with theninth row of the selection table 180.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary method 300 for selecting an antenna for acommunication functionality according to various embodiments describedherein. Specifically, the method 300 may relate to determining anantenna configuration to be used by the cellular chip 120 and the ISMchip 130 based upon which of the communication functionalities are beingused such as the cellular functionality, the Bluetooth functionality,and the WiFi functionality. The method 300 also relates to determiningthe existence of conditions that also affect the antenna configurationto be used. Accordingly, the method 300 relates to the selection table180. The method 300 will be described with regard to the UE 100 of FIG.1 and the selection table 180 of FIG. 2.

In 305, the ISM chip 130 may receive the communication settinginformation. As discussed above, the ISM chip 130 may include the FW 135that executes the selecting application 175. To perform itsfunctionality, the cellular chip 120 via the WCI module 125 may generateand transmit the Type 7 message related to the cellular functionalitywhile the decision application 170 executed by the applicationsprocessor 105 may generate and transmit the ioctl related to theconditions experienced by the UE 100. Thus, in 310, the ISM chip 130 maydetermine the present conditions.

In 315, the ISM chip 130 determines whether there is a coexistencecondition. The coexistence condition may exist when at least one of theBluetooth functionality, the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality, and the 5 GHzWiFi functionality operate while the cellular functionality is alsobeing used. Accordingly, this may be associated with rows three, six,nine, and twelve on the selection table 180. When the coexistencecondition exists, the selection table 180 may define the antennaconfiguration to be selected such that the performance of the cellularchip 120 and the ISM chip 130 is maximized under the present conditions.Thus, when there is a coexistence condition, the ISM chip 130 continuesthe method 300 to 320 where the predetermined antenna configuration asindicated in the selection table 180 is selected.

Returning to 315, when there is no coexistence condition, the ISM chip130 continues the method to 325. In 325, the ISM chip 130 determineswhether the cellular functionality is being used. As discussed above,the cellular functionality may be indicated specifically via the Type 7message. The use of the cellular functionality may entail a SARcondition being present. That is, when the cellular functionality isbeing used while at least one of the Bluetooth functionality, the 2.4GHz WiFi functionality, and the 5 GHz WiFi functionality is being used,the SAR condition may arise. Accordingly, this may be associated withrows two, five, eight, and eleven on the selection table 180.

In 330, the ISM chip 130 determines whether there is a furtherfunctionality being used. For example, the Bluetooth functionality maybe used alone, the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality may be used alone, theBluetooth functionality may be used with the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality,and the Bluetooth functionality may be used with the 5 GHz WiFifunctionality. Accordingly, the ISM chip 130 may be used for anindividual communication functionality or a combination communicationfunctionality. If a combination communication functionality is beingused, the ISM chip 130 continues the method 300 to 335. Specifically,this may be associated with rows eight and eleven of the selection table180. In 335, the ISM chip 130 selects the antenna configuration basedupon a preference as indicated in the selection table 180. In addition,the preference may also be selected at least partially upon performance.As discussed above, the selection may be based on the performance andreceiving errors for a receiving aspect of the communicationfunctionality and a maximum transmission power of the transmittingaspect. In another manner, the receiving aspect may make the selectionon performance while the transmitting aspect may make the selection on aprevious receiving antenna that was used. Furthermore, an appropriatepower adjust such as applying a power cap may be used from theselection. For example, when the Bluetooth functionality is used withthe 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality along with the cellular functionality andno coexistence condition exists, the Bluetooth functionality may have anantenna selected based upon a preference from the available antennas150, 165. The 2.4 GHz functionality may also have an antenna selectedbased upon a preference in which the first portion of the second corehas an available antenna 160 and the second portion of the second corehas available antennas 150, 165. In another example, when the Bluetoothfunctionality is used with the 5 GHz WiFi functionality along with thecellular functionality and no coexistence condition exists, theBluetooth functionality may again have an antenna selected based upon apreference from the available antennas 150, 165. The 5 GHz functionalitymay also have an antenna selected based upon a preference (although morelimited) in which the first portion of the second core has an availableantenna 160 and the second portion of the second core has an availableantenna 165. Once the antenna selection is performed and the antennaconfiguration is determined, the ISM chip 130 may generate signals tooperate the appropriate switches to achieve the antenna configuration.

Returning to 330, if a single communication functionality on the ISMchip 130 is being used, the ISM chip 130 continues the method 300 to340. Specifically, this may correspond to rows two and five of theselection table 180. In 340, the ISM chip 130 selects the antennaconfiguration based upon a performance basis. Furthermore, anappropriate power adjust such as applying a power cap may be used fromthe selection. Again, as was discussed above, the receiving andtransmitting aspects of the communication functionality may be selectedon receiving errors, maximum transmitting power, performance, priorreceiving antenna, etc. For example, when the Bluetooth functionality isused along with the cellular functionality and no coexistence conditionexists, the Bluetooth functionality may have an antenna selected basedupon a performance such as a SNR. Other performance metrics may includea received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a link quality (LQ), etc.Accordingly, the available antennas 150, 165 for the Bluetoothfunctionality may be selected on this basis. In another example, whenthe 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality is used along with the cellularfunctionality and no coexistence condition exists, the 2.4 GHz WiFifunctionality may have an antenna selected based upon performance.Accordingly, the available antenna 160 for the first core and theavailable antennas 150, 165 for the second core may be selected on thisbasis.

Returning to 325, the Type 7 message may indicate that the cellularfunctionality is not being used or is inactive while at least one of theBluetooth functionality, the 2.4 GHz WiFi functionality, and the 5 GHzWiFi functionality is being used such that no condition arises.Accordingly, this may be associated with rows one, four, seven, and tenon the selection table 180. In 345-355, a substantially similar analysismay be performed by the ISM chip 130. However, the power adjust may notbe present from the selection for the antenna configuration.

It should be noted that the diversity to be achieved for the Bluetoothfunctionality and the WiFi functionality may include several features.For example, with WiFi diversity, this may be limited to the 2.4 GHzWiFi functionality since the 5 GHz WiFi functionality may be restrictedin antenna selection. The diversity decision may be based upon theperformance including the SNR, power, transmit failures, receivingactivity, timeouts, etc. The SNR may be updated periodically by pollingnon-active antennas. The diversity may also be activated when the SNRthreshold is below 25. In another example, with Bluetooth diversity,this may be limited to classic Bluetooth. The diversity decision may bebased upon the performance including the RSSI, packet errors, timeouts,etc. The Bluetooth antenna may have a default for an initial connectionsetup.

The exemplary embodiments further provide a mechanism to address whenthe coexistence condition is present. Specifically, the selection table180 may include further antenna configurations to define a manner inwhich the antennas are to be used for transmitting and receivingpurposes. Accordingly, the selecting application 175 may further receiveinformation regarding a current antenna configuration includingtransmitting and/or receiving characteristics and determine an antennaconfiguration to be used that details how each antenna is to be used.Accordingly, a first communication functionality may be considered a“master” or a preferred functionality that may first determine anantenna selection. An antenna selection for a second communicationfunctionality may be dynamically switched based upon the decision of thefirst communication functionality. In a substantially similar manner,these selections may be based upon further definitions indicated in theselection table. This mechanism will be described with regard to furtheruse cases.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary antenna configuration from a selection in theselection table 180 according to various embodiments described herein.Specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates a first antenna configuration 400 thatrepresents a first type of antenna configuration that is being used bythe UE 100. FIG. 4 further illustrates a second antenna configuration450 that represents a second type of antenna configuration to be used bythe UE 100 after the determination for this antenna configuration ismade.

The first antenna configuration 400 is shown on the UE 100 and theantennas 150-165 that are substantially similar in positioning as wasdescribed above. However, as this mechanism relates to the transmissionand reception configuration of the antennas 150-165, the use case forFIG. 4 illustrates where a first communication functionality affects asecond communication functionality when the first communicationfunctionality utilizes a two-antenna transmission that impacts bothreceiving antennas of the second communication functionality while thefirst and second communication functionalities operate simultaneously.The degradation in performance may be caused by harmonic fall in-band,out of band emission fall in band, blocking, etc. As illustrated, theantennas 160, 165 may be antennas used in the two-antenna transmissionof the first communication functionality while the antennas 150, 155 maybe the receiving antennas of the second communication functionality.

Given this basis, the selecting application 175 may utilize theselection table 180 and determine a change to be made to this currentantenna configuration to improve the performance of the communicationfunctionalities such that the coexistence condition may be minimized.The selection table 180 may indicate that the change includes the firstcommunication functionality altering from the two-antenna transmissionto a one-antenna transmission to dynamically switch based on theindication determined by the selection table 180. Thus, the antennaconfiguration 450 may illustrate the result from the change beingimplemented. That is, the antenna 160 remains being used fortransmission while the antenna 165 is no longer being used. The antenna150 may still be affected by the coexistence issue but the antenna 155may no longer be affected and have an increased performance.

Several further use cases (not shown) will be described herein. The usecases may also relate to different antenna configurations. For example,there may be a different number of antennas than what is illustrated inthe UE 100. However, to more accurately define the use cases, theorientation and positioning of the antennas as illustrated for the UE100 are maintained. For example, when the UE has only three antennas,the positioning may substantially correspond to those described for theantennas 150-165.

In a second use case, the UE may include three antennas. Specifically,the antennas may correspond to the antennas 150-160 of the UE 100.Accordingly, a first antenna may correspond to the positioning of theantenna 150, a second antenna may correspond to the positioning of theantenna 155, and the third antenna may correspond to the antenna 160. Inthe second use case, a first communication functionality may utilize atwo-antenna transmission while a second communication functionality mayutilize a one-antenna transmission. This transmission configuration mayimpact both the receiving antennas of the second communicationfunctionality. Accordingly, an intermodulation distortion (IMD) mayresult. However, it should be noted that the IMD is only exemplary andis used herein to represent any problem in the various scenarios whichmay also include harmonics, out of band, etc. The two-antennatransmission of the first communication functionality may be performedby the antennas 155, 160 while the antenna 155 is also being used by theone-antenna transmission of the second communication functionality. Theantennas 150, 155 may be used as the receiving antennas of the secondcommunication functionality.

Given this basis, the selecting application 175 may utilize theselection table 180 and determine a change to be made to this currentantenna configuration to improve the performance of the communicationfunctionalities such that the coexistence condition may be minimized.The selection table 180 may indicate that the change includes the firstcommunication functionality altering from the two-antenna transmissionto a one-antenna transmission. Thus, the antenna configuration may bechanged such that the antenna 155 is no longer being used by the firstcommunication functionality. Although the antenna 150 may still beaffected by the coexistence issue for receiving, the antenna 155 may nolonger be affected and have an increased performance for receiving.

In a third use case, the UE may again include three antennas in asubstantially similar configuration as the second use case. In the thirduse case, a first communication functionality may utilize a one-antennatransmission that impacts one of the two receiving antennas of a secondcommunication functionality. Specifically, the one-antenna transmissionof the first communication functionality may be performed by the antenna160 while the antennas 150, 155 may be used as the receiving antennas ofthe second communication functionality. Specifically, the antenna 150may be the affected antenna due to the first communicationfunctionality.

Given this basis, the selecting application 175 may utilize theselection table 180 and determine a change to be made to this currentantenna configuration to improve the performance of the communicationfunctionalities such that the coexistence condition may be minimized.The selection table 180 may indicate that the change includes the secondcommunication functionality altering from the two-antenna reception to aone-antenna reception. Thus, the antenna configuration may be changedsuch that the antenna 160 is still used in the one-antenna transmissionfor the first communication functionality. However, the antenna 150 isno longer used in the receiving by the second communicationfunctionality and only the antenna 155 is used for this purpose. Thenetwork conditions and performance metrics may also be used to determinethat the dual receiving performance is worse than a single cleanreceiving performance. Accordingly, this selecting application 175 mayutilize this change.

In a fourth use case, the UE may again include three antennas in asubstantially similar configuration as the second use case. In thefourth use case, a first communication functionality may utilize aone-antenna transmission that impacts one of the two receiving antennasof a second communication functionality. The second communicationfunctionality may also have a one-antenna transmission being performed.Specifically, the one-antenna transmission of the first communicationfunctionality may be performed by the antenna 155 with the one-antennatransmission of the second communication functionality may also beperformed by the antenna 155. The antennas 150, 155 may be used as thereceiving antennas of the second communication functionality.Specifically, the antenna 155 may be the affected antenna due to thefirst communication functionality.

Given this basis, the selecting application 175 may utilize theselection table 180 and determine a change to be made to this currentantenna configuration to improve the performance of the communicationfunctionalities such that the coexistence condition may be minimized.The selection table 180 may indicate that the change includes the secondcommunication functionality altering from the two-antenna reception to aone-antenna reception. Thus, the antenna configuration may be changedsuch that the antenna 150 is still used for the reception. Thetransmission for both the first and second communication functionalitiesmay be maintained. Again, the network conditions and performance metricsmay be used to determine that the dual receiving performance is worsethan a single clean receiving performance. Accordingly, this selectingapplication 175 may utilize this change.

In a fifth use case, the UE may include four antennas in a substantiallysimilar manner as the UE 100. In the fifth use case, a firstcommunication functionality may utilize a two-antenna transmission and atwo-antenna reception while a second communication functionality mayalso utilize a two-antenna transmission and a two-antenna reception. Thetwo-antenna transmission/reception of the first communicationfunctionality may impact the transmission/reception of the secondcommunication functionality. The two-antenna transmission of the firstcommunication functionality may be performed by the antennas 160, 165and the two-antenna reception may also be performed by the antennas 160,165. The two-antenna transmission of the second communicationfunctionality may be performed by the antennas 150, 155 and thetwo-antenna reception may also be performed by the antennas 150, 155.

Given this basis, the selecting application 175 may utilize theselection table 180 and determine a change to be made to this currentantenna configuration to improve the performance of the communicationfunctionalities such that the coexistence condition may be minimized.The selection table 180 may indicate that the change includes disablingthe two-antenna transmission to a one-antenna transmission of either thefirst or second communication functionality. This may effectively resultin a common solution as the second use case. Similarly, the selectiontable 180 may indicate that the change includes disabling thetwo-antenna transmission to a one-antenna transmission of both the firstand second communication functionalities. This may effectively result ina common solution as the fourth use case.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method 500 of selecting an antennaconfiguration according to various embodiments described herein.Specifically, the method 500 may relate to determining an antennaconfiguration to be used based upon the communication functionalitiesexperiencing a coexistence condition. The method 500 also relates todetermining a manner in which the transmission and reception is to beperformed using the available antennas for the communicationfunctionalities. Specifically, this may relate to utilizing a MIMOconfiguration or a single-input and single-output (SISO). The method 500will be described with regard to UE 100 of FIG. 1 and the antennaconfigurations of FIG. 4.

In 505, the ISM chip 130 may receive the communication settinginformation. Again, this may entail receiving the ioctl from thedecision application 170 executed by the application processor 105 overthe PCIe 145 and the Type 7 message from the WCI module 125 of thecellular chip 120 over the WCI pathway 140. In 510, the ISM chip 130 maydetermine that the current communication settings include a coexistencecondition. Accordingly, the cellular chip 120 and the ISM chip 130 maybe determined to being used simultaneously.

In 515, the ISM chip 130 may also determine the antenna configurationcurrently being used. Specifically, the ISM chip 130 may determine thetransmission and reception configuration of the antennas such as basedupon the ioctl, the Type 7 message, or other mechanism. In 520, the ISMchip 130 selects a change to the antenna configuration. As discussedabove, the change to the antenna configuration may be based upon definedchanges provided in the selection table 180. The change may also beinfluenced by performance metrics such as whether a MIMO or a SISO ismore optimal. Thus, in 525, the ISM chip 130 updates the antennaconfiguration based upon the selected change. For example, the ISM chip130 may generate signals to control the switches to control the mannerin which the antennas are used.

As discussed above, the selection table 180 may also include informationto define the antenna configurations to be used when the coexistencecondition is detected. For example, this portion of the selection table180 may include a portion for antenna transmission in a coexistencecondition. The problem statement that is defined for this portion may bethat the transmission antenna(s) impacts the receiving antennas underthe coexistence condition and/or the cellular transmission with WiFi orBluetooth MIMO transmission mixing IMD impacts the cellular receptionantennas. Accordingly, a mitigation path is for the WiFi to use SISO fordata and acknowledgements with no MIMO, cyclic delay diversity (CDD), orspace time block coding (STBC). This may result in an improvedperformance under coexistence conditions.

In another example, the selection table 180 may also include a portionfor WiFi transmission antenna selection based upon a cellular antennaswitching decision. The problem statement that is defined for thisportion may be that the two-antenna system of WiFi impacts both thecellular receive antennas under a coexistence condition. The cellulartransmission and WiFi or Bluetooth MIMO transmission mixing IMD impactsthe cellular reception antennas. The cellular transmission antenna alsochanges per cellular antenna switching decision and its IMD also impactschanges. Accordingly, a mitigation path is for the FW 135 to have asetting based on network metrics such as the band and cellular antennato WiFi antenna mapping and add a bit to the Type 7 message in the WCIin a substantially similar manner discussed above. Therefore, aselection in the selection table 180 may be made such as forcing aswitch from MIMO to SISO. This may result in an improved performanceunder coexistence conditions such as in a HotSpot.

The exemplary embodiments provide a device and method to select anantenna configuration based upon a variety of factors associated with atransceiver of a UE. The exemplary embodiments provide a mechanism thatincorporates whether a transceiver has more than one communicationfunctionality being used simultaneously and whether this communicationfunctionality is also being used with a cellular functionality. Throughdetermining this aspect as well as whether there is one or more negativeconditions, the mechanism utilizes a selection table that defines anantenna configuration to be used under the given information of acurrent status. The selection table further provides antennaconfigurations when a particular negative condition is identified suchthat a transmission and reception configuration is also selected.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-describedexemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software orhardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardwareplatform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, forexample, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, aMac platform, MAC OS, iOS, Android OS, etc. In a further example, theexemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as aprogram containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on aprocessor or microprocessor.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made in the present invention, without departingfrom the spirit or the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended thatthe present invention cover modifications and variations of thisinvention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims andtheir equivalent.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: at a user equipment:determining at least one communication functionality that is being used,each of the at least one communication functionality configured toutilize at least one antenna in a multi-antenna arrangement of the userequipment; receiving a first indication of whether a cellularcommunication functionality is being used, the cellular communicationfunctionality configured to utilize at least one antenna in themulti-antenna arrangement; receiving a second indication of whether acoexistence condition is present; receiving a third indication of amanner in which the multi-antenna arrangement is being used by thedetermined at least one communication functionality, the mannerindicating a transmit and receive configuration of each of thedetermined at least one communication functionality and each antenna ofthe multi-antenna arrangement; determining an antenna configuration forthe multi-antenna arrangement to be used by the determined at least onecommunication functionality based upon the determined at least onecommunication functionality, the first indication, the second indicationand the third indication; and configuring the multi-antenna arrangementfor the determined at least one communication functionality based uponthe antenna configuration.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the atleast one communication functionality includes a Bluetooth communicationfunctionality, a 2.4 GHz WiFi communication functionality, and a 5 GHzWiFi communication functionality.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theat least one communication functionality is configured to utilize atleast one predetermined antenna in the multi-antenna arrangement.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first indication is included in a Type 7message transmitted over a wireless coexistence interface (WCI) pathway.5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second indication is included inthe Type 7 message.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstindication indicates that the cellular communication functionality isbeing used and the second indication indicates that there is acoexistence condition.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:determining a change to the transmit and receive configuration when thefirst and second indications are generated, the change including afurther transmit and receive configuration for each of the determined atleast one communication functionality and each antenna of themulti-antenna arrangement.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the antennaconfiguration is further determined based upon at least one of aperformance metric and a preference.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe antenna configuration incorporates a power cap for the determined atleast one communication functionality when the first indicationindicates that the cellular communication functionality is being used.10. The method of claim 7, wherein the change is from a multiple-inputand multiple-output (MIMO) configuration to a single-input andsingle-output (SISO) configuration.
 11. A user equipment, comprising: amulti-antenna arrangement; a cellular radio configured to establish aconnection to a cellular network via the multi-antenna arrangement; aradio configured to at least one of establish a connection to a WiFinetwork using a WiFi communication functionality and establish ashort-range connection to a further user equipment using a Bluetoothcommunication functionality via the multi-antenna arrangement, the radioconfigured to select an antenna configuration for the multi-antennaarrangement by: determining whether at least one of the WiFicommunication functionality and the Bluetooth communicationfunctionality is being used; receiving a first indication of whether thecellular radio is being used; receiving a second indication of whether acoexistence condition is present; receive a third indication of a mannerin which the multi-antenna arrangement is being used by the determinedat least one communication functionality, the manner indicating atransmit and receive configuration of each of the determined at leastone communication functionality and each antenna of the multi-antennaarrangement; determining the antenna configuration of at least oneantenna in the multi-antenna arrangement to be used by the determined atleast one of the WiFi communication functionality and the Bluetoothcommunication functionality based upon the determined at least one ofthe WiFi communication functionality and the Bluetooth communicationfunctionality, the first indication, the second indication and the thirdindication; and configuring the multi-antenna arrangement for thedetermined at least one of the WiFi communication functionality and theBluetooth communication functionality based upon the antennaconfiguration.
 12. The user equipment of claim 11, wherein the WiFinetwork is one of a 2.4 GHz WiFi network and a 5 GHz WiFi network. 13.The user equipment of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the WiFicommunication functionality and the Bluetooth communicationfunctionality is configured to utilize at least one predeterminedantenna in the multi-antenna arrangement.
 14. The user equipment ofclaim 12, wherein the first indication is included in a Type 7 messagetransmitted over a wireless coexistence interface (WCI) pathway from thecellular radio to the radio.
 15. The user equipment of claim 14, whereinthe second indication is included in the Type 7 message.
 16. The userequipment of claim 11, wherein the first indication indicates that thecellular communication functionality is being used and the secondindication indicates that there is a coexistence condition.
 17. The userequipment of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured todetermine a change to the transmit and receive configuration when thefirst and second indications are generated, the change including afurther transmit and receive configuration for each of the determined atleast one communication functionality and each antenna of themulti-antenna arrangement.
 18. The user equipment of claim 11, whereinthe antenna configuration is further determined based upon at least oneof a performance metric and a preference.
 19. The user equipment ofclaim 11, wherein the antenna configuration incorporates a power cap forthe determined at least one communication functionality when the firstindication indicates that the cellular communication functionality isbeing used.
 20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium withan executable program stored thereon, wherein the program instructs amicroprocessor to perform operations, comprising: determining at leastone communication functionality that is being used, each of the at leastone communication functionality configured to utilize at least oneantenna in a multi-antenna arrangement of the user equipment; receivinga first indication of whether a cellular communication functionality isbeing used, the cellular communication functionality configured toutilize at least one antenna in the multi-antenna arrangement; receivinga second indication of whether a coexistence condition is present;receiving a third indication of a manner in which the multi-antennaarrangement is being used by the determined at least one communicationfunctionality, the manner indicating a transmit and receiveconfiguration of each of the determined at least one communicationfunctionality and each antenna of the multi-antenna arrangement;determining an antenna configuration for the multi-antenna arrangementto be used by the determined at least one communication functionalitybased upon the determined at least one communication functionality, thefirst indication, the second indication and the third indication; andconfiguring the multi-antenna arrangement for the determined at leastone communication functionality based upon the antenna configuration.